The police and God is Good Motors (GIGM) are yet to confirm the number of abducted passengers and the status of a driver two days after kidnappers attacked their bus in Kogi State.

FIJ gathered that kidnappers abducted the passengers of a GIGM vehicle that departed Lagos State for Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Saturday.

They were kidnapped in the Obajana area of Kogi on their way to the FCT, and a commuter along the same route reported that the driver of the vehicle was not abducted along with the passengers.

According to a post shared on X by Morris Monye, a businessman, the kidnappers are demanding N100 million as ransom to release each passenger.

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Monye drew attention to the incident on Sunday after one of the kidnapped passengers’ friends sent him messages.

“My friend was kidnapped yesterday (on Saturday) on her way back from Lagos to Abuja. She was kidnapped in Kogi State and the kidnappers are demanding N100 million. She was travelling with God Is Good Motors. They kidnapped all the passengers on the bus,” she wrote.

FIJ sent a message to this friend of one of the kidnapped passengers, whose X handle Monye provided, but no response had been received at press time.

Another person who reached out to Monye said they drove past the scene of the incident, which was just after the Dangote Refinery at Obajana, on Saturday and “it was only driver [who was] left [alone]”.

According to this witness, the kidnappers destroyed the windscreens of the vehicle, stating, “The vehicle passed us at Kabba, I was almost a victim–just that car overheated at Kabba so we had to stop.”

At 8:49 pm on Sunday, more than two hours after Monye made the initial post, GIGM responded via its official X account.

Although the transportation company stated that it had reached out to the next of kin and family members of those affected, it did not disclose the number of kidnapped passengers or confirm the claim that its driver was not among the abductees.

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GIGM wrote: “We understand the urgency and emotions surrounding this situation. Please know that we are also deeply affected by this incident, as well as other similar incidences. It is quite unfortunate that amidst all the regular business challenges we go through, we also have to grapple with the product of insecurity bedevilling the nation at large.

“We are already in contact with the next of kin/family members of the affected persons. Please rest assured that we are working tirelessly with all relevant state and federal security agencies to bring about a resolution and are fully committed to doing everything possible, as is within our legal rights, to ensure a positive outcome.”

All efforts to reach GIGM for additional information, such as the number of kidnapped passengers and the whereabouts of the driver, proved abortive. The Kogi State Police Command did not answer phone calls on Monday.

When FIJ called GIGM via the phone number obtained on its website, only an automated response was received, as no human representative picked up the call after three attempts.

FIJ subsequently sent messages to the transport company via email, WhatsApp and Facebook. Although FIJ got an automated response to the email, stating that GIGM would provide “a human response within one hour”, none was received two hours later.

William Aya, the police public relations officer in Kogi, could not be reached via phone calls. FIJ dialled his number seven times, but the operator responded, “This user is busy. Try again later.”

The WhatsApp and text messages FIJ sent had not been responded to at the time of publication.